Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bukowski]

What would you want to know?

I will be the coordinator of a 7 day training/orientation program for new teachers coming to my province. For part of the program, I am to give a lecture on helpful information/my personal experience). I want the information I provide to the them to be as helpful as possible, but I only have time to focus on a few areas.

I don't want to bore them with subjective nonsense, but I need to find a balance between objective information and personal experience (we have all been to those lectures where the foreigner simply tells the new teachers about their experience which is a waste of time in my opinion).

What would you want to know? Please list 5 areas that you would like to hear about. Better yet, what do you think would be the most useful bit of information that I could give them.

This is your chance to really help those that are coming to Korea to have a better experience and avoid some of the headaces that we have all experienced.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

AC

[huffdaddy]

Okay, I realize you may not have time for all of this, but here are my 5 recommendations of things that they should learn in training:

-class room control / discipline

-lesson planning

-general teaching terminology / guidelines (e.g. teacher versus student talk time, self-correction, etc.)

-One of the most useful things I got from my TEFL class was being a guinea pig TSFL (Spanish) student. Put them in a learning Korean class with a Korean teacher speaking only Korean to them. It should make them think about the environment their kids will be facing.

-It also might be useful (if you have a lot of noobs) for them to have a practice "class" with their fellow trainees. Break the teaching seal.

[Bukowski]

Huff,

Thanks for your response.

I just want to clarify, as it might not have been clear in the OP. I am not talking about the actual content of the training. That has already been set. However, I am talking about the "experienced" teacher lecture. What sort of points weren't covered when you guys had training that you wished would have been covered?

Thanks again. I sure hope you guys take the time to contribute to this thread.

AC

[Ya-ta Boy]

I agree with huffdaddy. Those are the topics that newbies (and many experienced teachers) need to be filled in on.

I went to the recent Gyeonggi-do fiasco in Suwon. I don't want to see a video of the 'best' class in the school strut their stuff after rehearsing. I want to see a blow-by-blow demonstration with handouts, lesson plans and three-part harmony of how you take a class of 40 unmotivated, lazy, distracted, horny teenagers who will never use English in their life and get them to try to say, "I can cook" in one 50 minute lesson a week.

[Bukowski]

I'm batting a thousand, not!

Yata, I'm not sure if you were just trying to be funny, but I sure hope somebody reads the OP and takes the time to actually provide me with some helpful points.

Again, I'm asking about points that I can include in a brief lecture (it's only a small part of the entire program...perhaps 30~45 minutes tops with Q.A.).

I hope the third time is a charm.

AC

[ajuma]

New teachers coming to your province or new teachers in Korea? If they've taught in Korea before, you might want to tell them things like bus/train schedules, particulary the last bus/train back from the nearest large city, English-speaking doctors and dentists in the area, good places for shopping, and maybe some of what "most" schools in your area expect from their teachers.

New to Korea? Find the book "Ugly Koreans, Ugly Americans" and pick and choose the ones you feel are most important.

NOW, if you ask AGAIN we'll know that you have no idea WHAT it is that you're looking for!!

[ddeubel]

I must say I chuckled at Huffdaddy's Korean class idea. Shock and awe! Not so outlandish as it sounds and would be beneficial.

Now to seriously reply. I've done this before and got good feedback. Unfortunately my lectures were too short to provide a lot and the most helpful stuff came from the Q and A. Make a good block of time for this.

1) Practical things they should EXPECT. Meaning, supplementary materials, classroom set up (how to create a dynamic classroom) , lesson objectives, course text run through and other materials to help teach the text. Classroom management basics.

2) Co-teaching. If they are coteaching they should be planning weekly together and teaching together. Mandatory initial questionnaire and discussion with their coteacher about many teaching points so they can see what they both believe and set out duties based on those beliefs and strengths. I have a questionnaire in the teaching research folder on my site.

3) Practical, here in Korea things. Contractual items especially. About entitlements, apt., renewing, overtime, who to complain to etc....

4) about Korean educational culture. Not the diagram of the structure but rather the nuiance. How they handle things, expecting last minute stuff, etc....

That's all off the top of my head. Oh yeah, and where to get good pizza locally.

DD

[query29]

OP,
I will hopefully be coming to Korea in March. These are the five things I want to know.

1. How to get aroung town. Do people walk, taxi, bus, train? And what are the costs.

2. Where do I shop? Where are there things I can buy that will remind me of home, acclimate to the culture, entertain myself?

3. What is your experience with interacting with others. Are the people nice? What places are fun or what places should I avoid.
p.s. Don't make judgements here about lifestyles. Just talk about safety and cleanliness.

4. If you don't have a system in place already, then talk about how you set up cable, internet, phone, bank account, etc.

5. Some fun or funny things that happened to you.

[schwa]

Some good replies above that touch on most of the important areas.

Presumably your presentation will also be printed in some sort of manual? What I do (been there, several times) is write a fairly comprehensive article they can read in their own time.

Then I use the time exclusively to field questions from the audience. They'll have lots. No better way to be responsive to what they want to know.

Too bad your stage time is so limited -- this could easily fill a couple hours. But its better than nothing. Straight answers to pressing questions -- they'll thank you.

[ilovebdt]

As a newbie coming to Korea, my first concerns were:

A) How to open a bank account and send money home and
B) How to go about registering myself with immigration.

I am sure their Korean co-teachers will help them open a bank account, but if it is the school's first foreigner they might not be up to par with what to do at re the ARC etc.

ilovebdt

[Muramasa blade]

1) Are you actually co-teaching, or is it co-teaching in name only? Some co-teachers walk out, don't do anything, or whatever. This might be scary for a new person. It's also an important consideration when dealing with lesson plans, text, etc.

2) The duties involved. Might sound straightforward, but teachers get asked to do some weird things. Writing books, teaching teachers, demo classes, do whatever you like, etc.

3) How many schools will I be farmed out to? This might be a consideration, as it can be annoying/stressful to have to go to many schools. Going to five, or six schools, can be annoying.

4)Classroom management/discipline can be a problem. This is a big issue for people who don't speak the same language. Even native Korean teachers have problems with discipline.

5) Contractual items. Holiday time, apartment, etc. Are you sitting in an empty classroom during winter break? Is your holiday time broken up into small one or two day nuggets? Do you have to share accomodations?
Visa, banking, etc.

You probably won't be able to answer most of these questions in depth, because they vary from city to city, and school to school. You could probably give a general overview though.

[Bukowski]

Thanks to all of you that responded.

I just wanted to update you that my time has been expanded to 1.5 hours, thanks to a very good suggestion by Schwa. I mentioned having my time turned into more of a Q & A, and my supervisor very much approved!

Anyway, keep the suggestions coming.

AC

[TheBrain]

Is this your job, bukowski?

[PRagic]

Why reinvent the wheel. It's always good to seek input for a program, but the reason they are having YOU do it is because they assume you know...well...what do DO!

To start off, how about letting the board know your ideas? We can go from there.

[TheBrain]

Yes, bukowski. You should explain yourself.